In the aftermath of the incident, Chesterfield County Fire Lt. Jason Elmore was reported by NBC News as saying “when you have a bus of this size with that many students that are on it… we’re very fortunate that there were not more injured than there were”.
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The students said it was a “miracle” they were not more seriously injured.
(CNN)Speed was a factor in a bus accident in Virginia that sent 34 university students and a bus driver to the hospital on Sunday night, according to the Virginia State Police.
It happened where the Powhite Parkway and the Chippenham Parkway intersect in Chesterfield County. One person has been majorly wounded following the crash with the others sustaining minor injuries. The other 49 were students heading back to Radford and Virginia Tech from fall break, one parent told 8News.
Another 32 victims have injuries that are not life-threatening, according to Elmore.
According to Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller, a chartered bus carrying 50 passengers went out of control and overturned. After the bus flipped, a vehicle hit the bus. Virginia Tech student Daniel Walls, who was left with a fractured clavicle, a concussion, scrapes and bruises, said the driver was speeding and was taking a detour because there were too many accidents on the normal route back to school, which is Interstate 64 West and Interstate 81 South.
State Police said a motor carrier safety team had gone to the crash site, where the Powhite Parkway connects with another parkway just southwest of Richmond, to conduct a safety check on the bus.
Neither the NTSB nor the bus company immediately returned telephone messages Monday morning.
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The investigation into the incident is ongoing and the National Transportation Safety Board has been contacted.
